A MAN appeared in court yesterday after a playground scuffle between two children erupted into an assault.
Stephen Roberts, 41, slapped his neighbour, Norma O'Callaghan, across the face in a "moment of temper" after a row between their daughters could not be resolved.
Newcastle Crown Court heard how Roberts shouted abuse at Mrs O'Callaghan before reaching over the garden fence and slapping her.
Defence barrister Peter Schofield said the neighbours still live extremely close together and Roberts felt "great regret" about what happened.
Roberts, of Anderson Street, South Shields, was fined £75 and ordered to pay £100 court costs by Judge Denis Orde after he pleaded guilty to common assault.
Judge Orde said: "This sounds like a very childish dispute indeed, you should have been too grown up to take part in it. This was one slap in a moment of temper, but you have to watch your temper because you could do something more serious and then you would be in trouble."
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